Top Five Must-See Phoenix Shows This Week

If you're looking for proof that yesterday's indie sound is today's mainstream sound, you could do worse than examining the record sales of Imagine Dragons and Mumford & Sons, two enormously successful rock acts that spend most of their time blurring what was already a pretty blurry line.

If you're just looking for five shows to see in Phoenix this week--well, we've got a list here. One of them is free!

Imagine Dragons - Comerica Theatre - June 3

Imagine Dragons' debut LP, Night Visions, begins with a guitar intro that might remind you a little of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive." Then it descends into a heavy, current-sounding verse anchored by the stuttery, wub-wubbing bass made famous by dubstep -- or at least movie trailers with dubstep in them.

That might not remind you of Bon Jovi right away, but it should. Like Bon Jovi in the '80s, Imagine Dragons produces slick, widely appealing arena rock that hits every trend in popular music on the way to its anthemic choruses. In 1986, it was glam, metal, and synths. In 2013 it's EDM, indie, and, well, synths, along with tossed-off, specific verses that build into enormous, vague choruses. On songs like "It's Time," which you've heard if you own a TV, they put those pieces together with an unnerving precision.

Also like Bon Jovi: They're not breaking any new ground, and their big hit has maybe worn out the welcome you gave it after the first time you heard it in a film trailer. But once you accept that they're a big, broad arena rock band, you'll probably enjoy yourself.